Afrofuturistic Translanguaging: Pathways to Students' Wellbeing in Disciplines

Abstract

This study highlights the drawbacks of monolingual instruction in university disciplines and its adverse effects on students’ knowledge acquisition, mental, emotional, and academic well-being. Incorporating Afrofuturism, the research introduces translanguaging as an innovative component to explore the advantages of employing multilingual strategies. The goal is to mitigate limitations posed by monolingual approaches and actively contribute to safeguarding students’ comprehensive well-being in the academic context. Incorporating Afrofuturist principles, this study utilizes textual analysis with the researcher as a research instrument. It analyses how multilingual teaching not only addresses limitations associated with monolingual instruction but also positively impacts African students’ well-being. Innovative studies on translanguaging practices are highlighted, offering multilayered insights into the dynamic interplay of languages and knowledge in disciplines. The research offers an innovative approach by integrating Afrofuturist translanguaging strategies, providing valuable insights for enhancing student well-being across university disciplines. Identifying the limitations of monolingual instruction on disciplinary expertise, the study underscores its detrimental impact on African scholars’ mental, emotional, and academic well-being. By introducing Afrofuturist-aligned translanguaging practices, the research illuminates innovative strategies that surpass these limitations, demonstrating the advantages of embracing multilingualism in disciplinary settings. This Afrofuturist-inspired approach promotes a more inclusive understanding of linguistic diversity, nurturing belonging and resilience among students. Recognizing the detrimental effects of monolingual instruction on holistic growth in Africa’s universities, this study champions a transformative transition towards multilingualism.

Received: 17 November 2023 | Revised: 6 December 2023 | Accepted: 28 December 2023

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest to this work.

Data Availability Statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Author Contribution Statement

Oscar Eybers: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Data Curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration.